The Chery QQ3 is a city car and subcompact hatchback that Chery has produced since May 2003. Its low price made it one of the most popular cars in China and, in 2008, possibly the cheapest production car in the world; it also brought Chery into an intellectual-property dispute with General Motors.
Chery QQ3 at a glance
| Maker | Chery Automobile, Wuhu, China |
|---|---|
| Production | since May 2003 |
| Class | city car, hatchback |
| Price | about US$4,000 in 2012 |
| Engine 0.8 | SQR372 three-cylinder, 38 kW (51 hp), 70 N·m |
| Engine 1.1 | DA465Q 38.5 kW (52 hp) or SQR472F 50 kW (67 hp) |
| Facelift | QQ3 Sport, shown in Guangzhou in 2011, on sale in 2012 |
| Second generation | 2013, built in Italy as the DR Zero |
| Electric | QQ3 EV, deliveries from March 2010, 100 km range |
| Product line | QQ3, QQ6 and QQme |
| Iran | built as the MVM 110 |
| Global NCAP | zero stars for the South African car in 2017 |
Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the QQ3, which describes the first and second generations, the export markets and the electric version.
History of the Chery QQ3
A car for the masses
The QQ went on sale in May 2003 and its price made it popular: in the 2000s it was often Chery’s best-selling model, and the company itself calls it a legend of the Chinese motor industry, a mini car with the highest cumulative sales in the country. In 2008 it may have been the cheapest production car in the world, and in 2012 the cheapest QQ still cost about US$4,000. In 2006 Chery created a QQ-branded product line that also included the QQ6 saloon from September 2006 and the three-door QQme from June 2009.
The General Motors dispute
In the late 2000s the QQ was at the centre of an intellectual-property dispute: General Motors claimed it copied the Daewoo Matiz, sold in some countries as the Chevrolet Spark, and sued Chery in a Chinese court. GM China said the two cars shared a remarkably identical body structure, exterior and interior design and key components, and executives showed that the doors of the QQ and the Spark were interchangeable. Chery denied copying the design and said it had paid to acquire it.
Engines, facelifts and the electric car
The QQ was offered with three Euro III petrol engines: a 0.8-litre three-cylinder of 38 kW (51 hp), a 1.1-litre of 38.5 kW (52 hp) and a second 1.1-litre of 50 kW (67 hp). A slightly redesigned car was shown at the 2011 Guangzhou show and renamed QQ3 Sport, with new front and rear ends, a 1.0-litre SQR371F engine and a restyled interior; the second generation followed at the 2013 Shanghai show and was sold by DR Automobiles in Italy as the DR Zero. The QQ3 EV went on sale in Wuhu in March 2010 with a range of 100 km and a price after incentives of about 40,000 yuan, and it was China’s best-selling new-energy car from 2011 to 2013, with 2,167 sold in 2011, 3,129 in 2012 and 5,727 in 2013; cumulative sales from January 2011 to June 2015 reached 22,097.
Design and features
- Very low price: possibly the cheapest production car in the world in 2008.
- Three small engines: 0.8 and 1.1-litre units from 51 to 67 hp.
- Electric version: the QQ3 EV of 2010, with a 100 km range.
- Long export list: sold in Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Thailand and Vietnam, and built in Iran as the MVM 110.
Chery QQ3 versions
- QQ and QQ3: the original 2003 car and its later name.
- QQ3 Sport: the 2012 facelift with a 1.0-litre engine.
- QQ3 EV: the electric version from March 2010.
- Second generation: the 2013 car, sold in Italy as the DR Zero.
- QQ6 and QQme: the saloon and three-door members of the QQ family.
The QQ was the first of the QQ family, followed by the Chery QQ6 and the Chery QQme. More models are in the Chery collection.
Sources
- Chery QQ3, English Wikipedia: production, engines, price, GM dispute, electric version, facelifts
